Just in time for my lunch break! I like how you often put what we think is new because it’s online in a broader historical point of view. The names and the details are new, but not the essence. Content marketing existed well before the internet did and copywriters were already using most of the techniques we use back in the day.

I was thrilled when, about a year ago, a company contacted me to do some “native advertising” on my blog. They didn’t call it that, though. They just asked if I could place a link to a .com in one of my relevant posts.

I’m wondering how one should go about getting more native advertising on one’s blog. Is it forward to contact different companies and ask them to sponsor posts that haven’t been published yet? For example: I write a series of posts on creating an author website, and then contact relevant companies asking them to sponsor different posts before they’ve been published. Is this okay?

I like your comment on the Ogilvy ad and how “the ad is art”… branded creativity, branded content, “native advertising”, its’ essentially all the same. However, there are many types of native advertising and it’s not necessarily what it is rather than why its become necessarily, which you also touched on. Traditional ads continue to loose their effectiveness. In my view though, native ads are a direct response to maintaining better user experiences on websites and web apps, and having more relevancy. This was one of the major reasons why I started Adpressive.com, which is likely the most literal interpretation of native advertising (ad as content, content as ads). Luckily, native advertising works in this case, since visitors are there to specifically to look at and appreciate the art and entertainment aspects of impressive advertising. Oh, btw, Adpressive.com is hosted by Synthesis, which has been an AWESOME host!

Good conversation. I was happy to be able to listen in. I think native advertising is bs. That is, unless it is so native as to be not actually advertising. If it actually is instructional, I think you’re on to something. You referenced http://www.copyblogger.com/wordpress-google-authorship/, which I had already read. Obviously that piece sells Genesis, but the “advertising” is so “native” as to not be advertising at all.

My 3 month old has really dry skin. If aquaphor put out some content on keeping baby skin smooth, I’d read it and I’d buy aquaphor. Because somewhere on the list it would say, use aquaphor.

I think it really comes down to another phrase you might have some familiarity with – Teaching Sells.

One thing I wonder about is how Google (and other search engines) will react to native advertising. I’m guessing any links in such content would need to be no-followed being they are actually paid ads.

In that case, it becomes really important to find the right site to place native advertising, because it’s about finding the right audience, not getting link-juice. I think in the end, that will mean a lot better value for readers/viewers.

Also – I think this concept works in traditional local media like TV and radio too. You may see some local stations doing sponsored “Ask the Expert” type content or Paul Harvey type ads. But I think the quality of this stuff needs to improve.

“Native advertising” just might save local TV too. Every local affiliate was given digital sub-stations when we switched from analog to digital broadcasting several years ago. These would be amazing channels (literally) for valuable native advertising (similar to the hyper-local lifestyle content website Brian talked about). But I have yet to see a station take full advantage of an idea like that.

I first saw “Native Advertising” referenced in either an Inc. or Fast Company article earlier this year, and the first thing I thought was this was just another way of talking about and advertorial.

Basically just making an advertisement fit in to look like the regular content that surrounds it. We’ve been seeing this online in the form of banner ads that look just like the rest of the sidebar content, but links to the advertisers site.

I’m sure we’ll being hearing more and more about the buzz term this year, and of course the controversy that surrounds it as people “discover” this is being used online.